Tuesday, October 18, 2016

The Big Road Trip, Part 2

The biggest problem with traveling on the road with a teenage daughter is her propensity to crave sleep above the adventure of travel. I'm the type of person that wants to be on the road at sun-up, but... Let's just say it became a challenge for both of us as the trip wore on.

Day 2 of our trip would take us to our first and only destination: Chicago, IL, for G-Fest XXIII. G-Fest is the largest regular gathering of Godzilla and Japanese monster fans in the world. It's a family-oriented convention featuring presentations by fans and actors and crew from Japanese Godzilla films, including topics of interest, contests and gaming, new and classic kaiju movies, a dealers room, and lots of fun. My daughter and I have been going for about 5 years now, and I went to several of the first G-Fests back in the 90s. It's held each year in mid-July at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare, in Rosemont, IL.

Making the trip to Chicago each year means trying to vary the route a little bit so that is doesn't get old, because it tends to get old. We've flown, taken the train, and driven the turnpikes. This time, I decided to take the "southern" route across Ohio and Indiana, and then drive north into Chicagoland. We left our hotel at 7:35 a.m. and headed west on I-70. It wasn't long before we hit the mother of all traffic jams. There was an accident just east of Columbus, OH, and traffic came to a standstill.

The cell phone is a masterful tool, and has changed the face of travel. With this little device, we can check our route and traffic issues on the spot, find restaurants and pit stops along the way, including making reservations at hotels, and find every roadside attraction in existence, as well as stay in touch with our friends and family through online social media. Oh, yeah... we can also call and talk to people with it!

Upon hitting this traffic jam, we found out that there was an accident ahead that had completely shut down the interstate. We quickly found a detour around the incident, and we were able to continue on with a minimal delay. Just east of Indianapolis, we stopped for gas, ran into a Wal-mart for a few needed supplies, and then had lunch at a Cracker Barrel. We were back on the road at 1 p.m. and headed towards Chicago.

Unfortunately, it was rush hour on a Friday afternoon. Traffic was really bad. We criss-crossed our way through the Chicago suburbs, sticking with highways instead of surface roads, and hitting pockets of stop and go traffic all the way to Rosemont. We arrived at about 4:30. Given the itinerary of G-Fest and not wanting to miss any of the afternoon sessions, we decided to go eat dinner first. As is customary, that meant a stop at the nearby Giordano's, which is some of the best stuffed deep dish pizza I've ever had (yes, even better than Uno's and Lou Malnati's). We weren't disappointed.

After a delicious meal, we headed over to the Crowne Plaza, checked in, and made our way to the intro session for G-Fest XXIII! It was fantastic seeing so many big stars from some of my favorite Japanese monster shows and movies, and I received personal greetings from Akira Takarada, Bin Furuya, and Hiroko Sakurai, as they passed us after the session.

We were really excited to be back at G-Fest, and, exhausted from the 463 mile drive, we decided to crash for the night back in our room.

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Favorite Quotations

Matthew 16:23 - "But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'"

Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

1 Peter 5:10 - "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

1 Thessalonians 4:13 - "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."

Titus 2:7-8 - "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."

John 15:13 - "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Joshua 24:15 - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Luke 2:14 - "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

"Don't judge a man by where he is, because you don't know how far he has come." - C.S. Lewis

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence." - George Washington

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The future starts today, not tomorrow." -- Pope John Paul II

"No man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence the Angel, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

"Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It's a good life; enjoy it." - Jim Henson